SAN ANTONIO – A man who was considered by many in San Antonio as the father of the city's tricentennial celebration has died.
Dr. Alfonso "Chico" Chiscano died Tuesday morning while in hospice care. He was 81.
According to Mari Tamez, president of the Canary Islands Descendants Association, said Chiscano died of kidney failure and cancer.
"San Antonio lost a great historian," Mayor Ron Nirenberg said in a tweet. "Today, we resolve to never forget him."
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Tributes on Facebook called Chiscano a great historian and cultural leader who brought the epic story of the Canary Islander founding families to the forefront of San Antonio's history books.
Chiscano was also a renowned thoracic and cardiac surgeon who performed the first open-heart surgery in the Canary Islands.